Knives, I have always been a fancier of knives. When I was a boy my father always had what looked like a huge Queen Steel bone scaled pocket knife in his trousers and the fascination stuck. Over the years I have developed a sort of collection of knives. Most of mine are pocket / clip back knives but I have a few fixed blade models also. Since relocating here to AK. I find that to leave home without my Benchmade Osborn Axis clipped in my right side pocket feels worse than leaving home without my American Express Corporate card. It seems I always need the knife. Opening packages, cutting a cord or rope at camp, and of course for dispatching an occasional salmon with a quick stroke through the brain, yep I keep one handy all the time. Then there is the fillet knife, what is your favorite? How do you keep them sharp, what works best to maintain the edge? What about assisted opening blades like the Kershaw and Gerbers?

If you have a favorite knife what is it and if you have a picture, post one please. I will take a photo of my every day carry blade and of my fishing blade and post them here soon. First I'll wait to see if this is a subject that other members are drawn to engage in.

When the "Sportsman Warehouse" was still open in our town I looked at a lot of knives. The ones that I liked but never bought were the "Knives of Alaska" brand. Their fishermans combo set looked good. It was hard for me to pull the trigger and purchase knives that expensive but I'm sure that they are worth it. I wound up purchasing a fillet knive, Steigermans design Benchmade. It's a fold up with sheath. I've got a number of pocket knives but the one I always have with me is a "Leatherman" with the fold out pliers in the center. I've also got a small Zog in my tackle box that I rarely use.

Ard: I always carry a small pocket knife with me, I'm like you, kind of feel lost without it. Post some photos of your favorites. I will do the same, I have a couple of fixed blades my son made for me.

Jimmie: I'm not sure if this is the same outfit but my son and I were visiting with a machinist friend in Midland, TX awhile back and he showed me a knife blank that had been produced by a foundary in Houston. The blanks were made by a lost wax method (I forget the actual name of that process of pouring metal into a casting) and had the name of the company embossed in the sides, very nice detail. Anyway it was something like "Knives of Alaska", later I looked them up online and found that he was actually from Texas but had a fishing/bird hunting lodge operation in Alaska in the summer and fall. If that is the same company he produces some very nice looking knives.

These are some of the knives that I use, some more than others;
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The fillet knives are a 9" Eagle River & a 12" Kershaw. I use the Kershaw.

The stag Horn is a Damascus Steel that I have had for about ten years, I carry that on my fishing pack, very sharp steel.
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The knife with the green anodized handle is a Benchmade Osborn Axis with a Tanto point. My everyday carry and a beautiful piece of machining.
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The workhorse of the bunch is my Gerber speed blade. I have pounded it down through the lids of cans of Alpo dog food and then sawed them open with it and it still takes an edge.
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The other steel handled knife is a Ken Onion Leek made by Kershaw. It is also an assisted opening blade and very well honed. I have a few more around here and will add one to the thread now and then.

I saw that Casey posted that he got a new Gerber for Christmas and so I am bring this back to life. Since posting this thread I have picked up two more Benchmade knives. Both are the Griptillian combo blades, I bought one for my brother for his birthday and liked it so much I got one for myself. Then I had to choose between Spear Point or Tanto Point on the blades so I did what any good knife freak would do, I got both.

I'll wait to see if any Christmas present knives show up and I'll post a picture of the new ones I have now tomorrow. Hey Catfish, I'm liking that fixed blade you carry a lot!

I have a few nice knives that I simply keep put away. I think of knives in a fairly utilitarian way for the most part. The ones I use the most are several varieties of the Kershaw Ken Onion series. I like the leek the best. Opening assist comes in handy and the looks are sharp. I also own the smaller one I think its called the scalion. I find that more handy around the vise.
As for cleaning fish and game, I generally use dexter russel sani safe type. Dishwasher safe, decent steel that sharpens easy and if I happen to lose or break it somehow, I'm out generally less than $50.
I also still use a few different ulu type knives. It works great for knocking the heads off salmon when dealing with a quantity of them, or kings and big silvers. Being able to force down weight on a small area and then spread throughout the width of the curved blade does a nice clean job and saves the edge on your filet knife.
While I have some family who has the skills and practice to filet salmon with an ulu, I generally stick to a 10in filet.